Minutes:
MINUTES OF THE ASAKO PRIMARY SCHOOL TRUST MEETING HELD ON SEPTEMBER 14TH 2009 AT THE OFFICES OF A F GROSS, NAIROBI
Trustees present:
Gill Marshall-Andrews - GMA
Juma Ali Dido – JAD
Anthony Gross – AFG
Kulisa Shora Dirkicha – KD
Ismail F. Solola – IS
Mark Cheruyiot - MC
Mohamed Hassan – MoH
Kate Hargreaves - KH
In attendance:
Stephen Kameti – SK,
Abas Kunyo – AK Area Education Officer
Apologies: Tony Fitzjohn – TF
Mike Harries – MH
1. The meeting was opened with a prayer by AFG
2. Minutes of last meeting on 3 June 2009 were tabled and passed
3. Matters arising
· Book bags – had been received. A question was raised about the size of the bags and capacity for all the books especially for upper classes. The school would like bigger bags for Upper primary children next time. GMA/AFG suggested that a proposal (including specification and 2-3 quotes) for lockable storage for school books be developed for 1 or 2 lockers per classroom.
· Staff bonus: There will be an event for celebration of results/bonuses in January. We need names and bank accounts of the 8 teachers by the next meeting in anticipation of good results.
· Bank account – KCB Garissa: AFG would like to change details of signatories. Resolution: that JAD, AFG, KH become the signatories of these accounts. GMA – trustees in UK want to minimise cash – restrict payments to standing orders for teacher salaries and direct payments to suppliers. By the end of this year TAS will not fund cash items except for transport to meetings. This is a requirement from TAS auditors.
· GMA – teachers and other staff who are currently paid cash need to get themselves bank accounts during next 3 months so that by 2010 all staff can be paid directly and not by cash c/o JAD. Must avoid teacher absence through visits to banks to receive salaries/cash.
· Funding: Beekeeping proposal deferred again. Dining hall is priority for infrastructure: Ksh 400,000 received from government from Ministry for school infrastructure. This money in the school account. Waiting for directive on the breakdown of use of funds.
· AFG – requested that for the next meeting the school puts in a proposal for funding the shortfall on the multi-purpose hall /dining hall showing the grant from the government. This should include space for a library and a foodstore.
· CDF had provided funds for renovation of the school and a new nursery. This had been partly delivered – floor, roof but no windows or doors yet.
· Water – AFG asked for clarification about the ongoing problems wit the supply of water to the school. MC said that the water supply was officially handed over to the community by KWS but that KWS would provide technical assistance. IS said that water hasn’t been officially handed over to the community. There seem to be ongoing technical problems such as the faulty solar pump and confusion about who is funding the askari for the tank. SK suggested a small proposal to pay the watchman Ksh 12k for past underpayment but GMA reiterated that TAS won’t pay for costs retrospectively.
· MC agreed to fix the technical issue and to organise for another small tank and that KWS would arrange transportation of the tank. The school should make an emergency funding proposal to TAS for a small tank for consideration at the TAS board in the UK next week while a full proposal should be drawn up for presentation to the next board meeting.
· Brickmaking machine – AFG – Asako should take the lead from Madogo. We will see how their work goes. Asako can send someone to see how it works and be trained. Find a small job (e.g. latrine by staff blocks) to see if brick machine is cost effective. JD – train 4 members of community and 1 teacher and to use it. Asako soil samples were good.
· Satphone: Juma to go to indigo to fix the phone – update the software and fix the battery, add KH and AFG numbers to the phone.
· Bursaries – we need to know how much GMA needs Education Authority assessment/annual review of all schools in the region. Like to see measures of the schools performance.
· GMA raised question of ‘measures of success’ for the APS – how to assess whether TAS’ interventions are achieving valuable results and tabled a template for assessing this.
· Teachers: before the trustees meeting in June they requested representation on board of Trustees and proposed Hussein Duba. JD – Madogo has 3 teachers as trustees. MoH – does not want Hussein Duba on the board because he is proposed to be the deputy head teacher and so he cannot be away to attend board meetings at the same time as the headteacher. The board agreed that this was not a substantive issue and asked the headteacher if there was any other issue preventing him from being an effective trustee. None was presented.
· GMA proposed that Hussein Duba is adopted as the representative of the staff as trustee.
4. Funding proposals
· Teacher training: A proposal was presented for training for Alkano Galgalo Bukao, one of the two nursery teachers undertaking ESDE certificate in service training. This training was first raised at the board in January 2009 and agreed in principle by the board in March subject to a proper funding proposal being presented and subject to Bukao being accepted on the course.
· No funding proposal had been presented since the time he was accepted onto the course and since he began the first module in April 2009. Nor was a proposal presented to the board at the June meeting. A further module was undertaken in August. Both this and the April module were paid for by JD.
· The funding proposal was for 6 modules, from April 2009 but GMA said nothing can be funded in retrospect and therefore only Ksh 13k of the Ksh 23,700 can be funded. This leaves JD out of pocket from the Ksh 8,850 he paid for the training in April and August.
· A discussion ensued about the role of the trustees and the board and the responsibilities for preparing for meetings. AFG confirmed that it is the responsibility of the Chairman, supported by the Headteacher and others, to organise trustees in between meetings to agree and produce funding proposals.
· GMA agreed on this occasion only she would ask the TAS board in London to fund the 2 sessions already taken place in addition to the future training costs. This will be the last occasion that funding will be provided in retrospect.
5. Visioning/strategic planning session: KH offered to run a strategic planning session for Asako to assist in establishing long term priorities, success measures and planning capital investment. This should be in conjunction with the School development plan (SDP) and the school management committee. MC supported this idea and offered to host the sessions in KWS hostels in Meru. Action – MoH to find out if there is support for this idea form the SMC and let KH and SK know so that the sessions can be planned.
6. Actions
i. JD: Specification and funding proposal needed for lockable storage (one or two lockers) in each classroom. Need 2-3 quotations for this.
ii. MoH to give names and bank details of the 8 teachers in anticipation of arranging the bonus.
iii. MoH All teachers and other staff (including cook/caretaker)to set up bank accounts before the end of the year.
iv. AFG. Issue ATM card for Garissa KCB account for JD.
v. JD and KH. Produce emergency funding proposal for the small watertank for GMA to present to the TAS board in the UK next week.
vi. MoH to ask SMC to if they would like to pursue the question of a strategic planning session.
vii. SK to organise transport 9 – 15 November – for students to do exams. Contact Kora warden and MC to appraise of the same.
viii. JD to appraise Hussein Duba of the board’s decision about his becoming the teacher-representative trustee.
7. AOB
Danger of the windmill: trustees express concern yet again of the malfunction of the windmill and the danger this presents to the school and the community. They are also still waiting to be appraised of what action is to be taken to bring it into commission.
Funding of expenses at Nairobi board meetings. It was agreed to refund expenses of those travelling from Asako area as follows: Ksh 1700 for transport (600 Asako-Garissa, 1000 Garissa – Nairobi, 100 travel within Nairobi); Ksh 1200 for food (4 evening meals); and Accommodation Ksh 1300 (2 nights in Garissa at 150, 2 nights in Nairobi at 500). Ksh 4,200 per person.
8. Date of next meeting
Next meeting proposed for Tuesday 17th November in Asako – location to be determined.
